TRAINING CATALOGUE OUTBREAK RESPONSE

Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases

World Health Organization
20 Avenue Appia
Geneva 1211
Switzerland
outbreak.training@who.int

Cover image: WHO/R.Holden

© World Health Organization 2016
 WHO/R.Holden

Training for Outbreak Response

The World Health Organization is committed to
the training and development of emergency
responders worldwide.
Our training courses cover a wide range of Contact
technical and disease topics, to help prepare outbreak.training@who.int
response workers with the skills and knowledge
they need in a health emergency.
The courses in this catalogue are managed by
the Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases
Department of the World Health Organization,
Geneva.
We look forward to welcoming new and returning
participants to one of our courses soon.

Pre-Deployment
All personnel sent by the World
Health Organization to respond to
a public health or humanitarian
emergency must have essential
knowledge and skills to perform
effectively and safely.
These pre-deployment trainings
prepare responders for the
ePROTECT 1 – Ebola
Pre-deployment training for Ebola
responders
This training prepares Ebola outbreak
responders with basic occupational health
and safety precautions to keep them safe
in the field. It covers the use of appropriate
infection prevention and control
precautions, how to stay healthy, and
procedures to follow in case of general or
1
Ebola-related illness.

challenges they will face in the

Audience WHO responders, partner
field and the responsibilities of agencies, national responders
joining an international response.
Duration 5 hours

Materials eLearning course, training and

evaluation materials

Languages English, French

ePROTECT 2 – respiratory illness GO

Pre-deployment training for personnel
responding to an outbreak of infectious
respiratory disease
Through this training, response personnel
will be prepared to work in respiratory
disease outbreaks such as Severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East
respiratory syndrome coronavirus /MERS-
CoV) and pandemic Influenza.
1 1
Comprehensive pre-deployment
training for Ebola responders
Tailored specially to the Ebola outbreak
response in West Africa, this package
provides front-line response personnel
with core knowledge and information. The
course covers the international Ebola
response, functions of the pillars of
response, and codes of conduct for
international work, amongst other
modules.

Audience WHO responders, partner Audience International response

agencies, national responders personnel

Duration 5 hours Duration 1-2 days

Materials Training & evaluation material Materials Face-to-face training materials,

(eLearning in development) self-learning packs

Languages English Languages English

WHO/W.Romeril

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 SARI, severe influenza and MERS-
Outbreak Response CoV
Outbreaks of respiratory illness
Ensuring rapid and effective
This interactive course provides practical
response to disease outbreaks is a
information on severe acute respiratory
core function of national health infections (SARIs), Middle East respiratory
systems and the WHO. syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and
severe influenza. It is aimed at doctors
Through these courses,
and other staff working in intensive care
participants will master a range of units caring for patients with SARI in
concepts and skills to enable them
to manage outbreaks of infectious
1
resource-constrained countries.
disease. Audience ICU staff caring for patients
with SARI
Duration 4 days
Materials Participant toolkit, facilitator
guides, e-materials
Sentinel influenza surveillance
Detection and early warning
Over four modules, participants will learn
about key characteristics of influenza
viruses; how to implement surveillance for
severe acute respiratory infection (SARI)
and influenza-like illness (ILI); how to
analyse and present surveillance data;
and how to organise a sentinel
surveillance system at site, laboratory and
national level. 1
Audience Public health professionals
involved in influenza
Duration 4 hours
Materials e-learning materials

Languages English, Indonesian, Russian,

Vietnamese Languages English, Spanish

WHO/C.Black

Cholera control in emergencies Cholera outbreak management Safe blood collection

Control of epidemic-prone diarrhoeal
diseases in humanitarian emergencies
Through this training, public health
professionals will learn key approaches to
controlling cholera and other epidemic-
prone diarrhoeal diseases in humanitarian
emergencies.
Case study
This case study covers outbreak
preparation, investigation, response and
post-response activities in a suspected
cholera outbreak.
Sample collection for emerging
pathogens
This is a practical course designed to
instruct medical professionals and
laboratory workers on how to safely collect
blood samples from patients suspected to
be infected with emerging pathogens.

1 1 1
Audience Medical district officials and
Audience Public health staff responding Audience District-level cholera teams laboratory technicians
to cholera outbreaks
Duration 1 day
Duration 5 days Duration 8 hours
Materials Field guide and training
Materials Reference and training Materials Case study, facilitator and role materials
materials player materials

Languages Arabic, English Languages English, French Languages English, French

WHO/R.Holden

4 5
Detecting and confirming a plague
case
Plague rapid detection tests and
sampling kits
This training outlines steps to detect and
confirm plague cases using rapid detecting
tests and sampling kits.
1 1
Audience Medical district officials and
laboratory technicians
Safe sampling and shipment of
plague samples
Sample collection for plague
In this training participants will learn how
to safely take samples from suspected
plague cases for testing and confirmation.
Participants will also be instructed on the
safe packaging and shipment of medical
plague samples.
Audience Medical district officials and
laboratory technicians
Risk Communication
Risk communication is a strategic
and interactive process of
information exchange among
stakeholders.
These trainings will enable
participants to communicate
clearly and effectively on behalf of
WHO during health emergencies.
WHO communications essentials
Introduction to WHO communications
Clear and effective communication about
public health risks and WHO’s work to
improve health are central to achieving the
Organization’s goals. This e-learning
module helps WHO staff to understand
why to communicate, who to communicate
with and how to do it.
1
Audience Public health experts. Version
for vets available in hardcopy.

Duration 1 day Duration 1 day Duration 2 hours

Materials e-materials Materials Training materials Materials Online course, handbook

Languages Arabic, Chinese, English,

Languages English, Spanish Languages English French, Portuguese, Spanish

Emergency Communications ERC country support network

Network (ECN) training
Pre-deployment training and roster
entry qualification
The ECN identifies, trains and deploys risk
communication experts as part of WHO’s
response to health emergencies. This
training prepares network members for
deployment, and is designed to replicate
conditions in a major health emergency. It
1
combines interactive, face-to-face learning
with a four-day simulation exercise.
(SUPPORT) training
Core skills for strategic support to
countries and roster entry qualification
National capacities for emergency risk
communication (ERC) are indispensable
to epidemic and emergency response.
Strengthening risk communication
includes effective capacity assessment
leading to the development of national
1
strategies and plans, and testing these
plans with simulation exercises.

Audience Communications and public Audience Capacity building experts in risk

health professionals, partners communication

Duration 9-10 days Duration 5 days

Materials Training, participant and Materials Online modules. Face to face

facilitator materials course available in 2016.

Languages English (primary) Languages English, French

WHO/C.Black

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 Network of Applied
Anthropologists and Sociologists
(SOCIALIZE) training
Effective community engagement and
emergency risk communication; and
roster entry qualification
This course equips anthropologists and
sociologists to work effectively with
response teams providing real-time
knowledge to influence response.
1 1
Audience Anthropologists, sociologists
and community workers
Pandemic communications
(PanComm)
Communicating along the critical
pathway
Risk communication is an essential
component of pandemic risk management.
This is an specialized course that requires
completion of the Communications
Essential eLearning course.
Audience Risk communications
practitioners

Duration 3 days Duration 20 hours

Materials Face to face course under Materials Online training materials

development. Online follow up.

Languages English, French Languages English

National planning workshops for

emergency risk communication
(ERC Expert Net)
Country-level risk communication
capacity strengthening
Introductory level course for Member
States and WHO staff to initiate or
strengthen national risk communications
capacity building. These are multi-
stakeholder learning and engagement
1
events run at regional, subregional or
national levels.

Audience Staff responsible for risk com-

munications capacity building

Duration 2 days

Materials Face to face workshops and

online material

Languages English, French

WHO/A.Khan WHO/W.Romeril

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Ebola Response
Designed to meet the learning
needs of professionals deployed to
respond to an Ebola outbreak,
these courses offer training on a
wide range of technical practices
and skills specific to Ebola.
Clinical management and infection
prevention and control for Ebola
Participant and train-the-trainer course
This training prepares both national staff
and international foreign medical team
members for work in an Ebola treatment
unit (ETU). The three phase training
consists of facilitated learning sessions (3
days), patient simulations in a mock ETU
and mentored instruction. The course also
1
includes train-the-trainers material to
enable participants to train other staff.
Audience Clinical staff working in Ebola
treatment units
Oral swab collection
For suspected Ebola cases
This course instructs participants on how
to safely collect oral swabs (saliva) for
testing from deceased patients suspected
to be infected with Ebola. It includes
preparation, personal protection from
infection, collection and waste
management.
1 1
Audience Medical district officials and
laboratory technicians
In-country safe shipment of Ebola
samples
Shipment of human blood samples
This course prepares participants to safely
ship human blood samples taken from a
suspected Ebola case within a country.
Topics covered include preparing a
sample, personal protection from infection,
packaging, shipment and recording.
Audience Medical district officials and
laboratory technicians

Duration 5 days Duration 1 day Duration 3 hours

Materials Training material, facilitator Materials Field guide, training manual Materials Field guide, training manual
manual, posters

Languages English Languages English, French Languages English, French

CARD Safe and dignified burial

Clinical case recognition, actions,
reporting and diagnosis
The CARD (case recognition, actions,
reporting, diagnosis) approach aims to
strengthen the capacities of clinicians and
health care workers to detect emerging
infectious diseases and take appropriate
clinical samples for laboratory testing and
early diagnosis.
1 1
Local-level Ebola response
In this course participants are trained on
the safe management of dead bodies and
burial of patients who have died from
suspected or confirmed Ebola virus
disease. The course covers twelve key
steps to follow to ensure a safe burial
including preparation, communication and
agreement with the family, body handling,
dignified burial and disinfection.

Audience Health care workers involved in Audience Local burial teams

clinical care

Duration 3-5 days Duration 3 days

Materials Training material, posters Materials Training materials

Languages English Languages English, French

WHO/T.Jasarevic

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